The serious guide to joke writing how to be funny even if you are not

1) Redefinitions and Puns (warm up to wordplay) If you wont write a bad joke, you wont write a good one Take a word apart and redefine or reinterpret it

e.g two fish are in a tank- one says to the other, do you know hw to drive this thing? Do a joke web on either half of a pun e.g e.g a bi-product factory goods 2) Single oke !ebs nions Thatcher !T"I#$! %its &alkouts & alk in flounce out 'ince out co'ing out bi-sexuals

(la'p down over !T"I#$! and think of words in own right- to find the connections &ays to think about words )reak up words (an you replace either one of the' (an you pun on it or half of it Take words out of their usual context Do the words have another 'eaning !ee the words historically and socially Is there a sound alike (an you think of an opposite *re there any clich+s to do with the word ! ),$(T *!!-(I*TI-. take word/phrase fro' context and apply nu 'eaning

"#$ %S T& 'PP($ )'*" T& +'%, S-) #*T e.g the hu'an tree- he found it very easy when his parents told hi' to leave.but he got the wrong end of the stick.

Think of big things to do with the subject as well as s'all things.

.) /ouble oke !ebs 0oads of jokes are links between two unrelated subjects e.g politicians- de'ocratus -swing states u

bi-sexual- gay swing both ways curious killed the used to swing at playground cat/pusy

The good thing about bi politicians is that now swingo'eter swings both ways That link was waiting to be spotted %owever other links are 'ore nuanced and need to be pushed 0 ) The 1adron joke 2ollider 1irst get two subjects to bash together *"T 2reproduction,faking it -nude (oinnesuer "$0*TI-.!%I3!-nude,faking it -reprodcution-oils break up

*pply every sub-topic of one web to the 'ain topic of another e.g apply dating to art e.g $xperts are re- dating the 'ona lisa *pparently last ti'e she was dated wrongly- it was just so'e pervert who took it out for a picnic and jerked off over her face. (rash the ideas together4444 Try to rando' topics !tories in the news are ripe for double joke webs 3opular sayings eg general hospital 1ind contradictions in own life eg want to go to heaven don5t want to give to charity

3) !riting jokes from the news Don5t focus on the story but on the wording of the story 3ick out the sentences and used the' as set ups S#T -P 2 T%$ 6 $$. "-00$D - T T%$ "$D (*"3$T T-D*7 P-,*1- 8888888888888888888888888. "ead the newspaper 9outloud: line by line and see the' as separate phrases not sentences. )ut if you have e'otional reaction to newsstory use strea' of conciousness or surrealist in;uisitions Its about ruthless objectivity,spotting lines and working the' to the 'ax 4) Stream of 2ons2iousness writing If you care about a subject its fantastic for co'edy i.e if so'ething irritates you it probably irritates others you speak about a subject without stopping for a seet a'ount of ti'e pushing thoughts into no 'ans land 9<=>I.!: % hate people who555555555566 They must think55555555555 %f % were god55555555555566 %ts just like55555555555556 %na parallel universe5555555556 !hat really gets me55555555566 The ne7t thing they will be doing is5556 %t would be poeti2 justi2e if55555566 %f % 2ould 2hange just one thing55555 !hats really ridi2ulous is55555556 The one thing % want to say to them is55 %f they were members of my family5556 1ocus on the thing behind what it is that you hate &rite for ten 'inutes then use pro'pts can you use lines as set ups- or joke web anything?

Things you secretly love or hate % se2retly love8hate55555555555566 %t makes me feel55555555555556 %ts really good8bad be2ause5555555556 % don9t want people to know be2ause555556 People who do this are555555555556 !hen im pretending the opposite % feel55556 Reverse stream of 2on2iousness (Is basically advanced sarcas': !hatever you love you pretend to hate et2 % love 8 hate when 2ars splash me55555566 666 %t makes me feel 66666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666 %t9s really good 8bad be2ause 666666666666666666666666666666666 People who do this are 6666666666666666666666666666666666666666666 The best 8 worst thing about it is 66666666666666666666666666 !ithout it we9d be 6666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666 %n a parallel universe 66666666666666666666666666666666666666666666 "ey is to keep writing8speaking and use prompts and answer them::

;) Surrealist %n<uisition =/es2ribe >oos to aliens55555555555 (apply aliens way to here) =1ow is it different in other 2ountries55555 (apply the idea to here) =/es2ribe the situation to a 2hild in terms they 2an understand6 Put yourself in their pla2e and imagine how they would respond?666666666666666666666666666666666666 =@ind an analogy555555555555555555 (this is tough) -Think about it from the point of view of any obje2tsA pla2es or people that are dire2tly or indire2tly involved69 ?

#7er2ise 1.@ The !urrealist In;uisition 6uestion !heet Think really hard about each ;uestion. If you find yourself going off at a tangent, that5s good. ,ust re'e'ber to apply the ideas ba2k to the main subje2t. /es2ribe the situation to aliens... Don5t say ?lotion5, say ?white sticky stuff5 2 talk in alien speak, then think about the sa'e situation fro' the alien point of view, looking down on what is happening. 1ow is this situation different in other 2ountries? Think of the most e7treme opposite pra2ti2e of another 2ountry that you 2an6 /es2ribe the situation to a young 2hild666 Put it in terms they 2an understand6 Put yourself in the pla2e of the 2hild and imagine how they would respond to what9s being said6 See if you 2an find an analogy? )reak the situation down to its basics and think of other things that are the sa'e. If you5re stuck try finding an analogy in how tribal societies do things or in the ani'al world. Think about it from the point of view of any obje2ts or things or people that are dire2tly or indire2tly involved666 -I'agine being interview and your trying to drop the joke in- the words the interview use are what you need to fill out the gag. -Try saying joke to one person instead of whole audience -I'provise around the joke add things to it -Try perfor'ing joke in foreign accent -*dd attitude to it

Jokes are exaggeration, lateral thinking, twisting words, applying one situation to another, taking things out of context, mimicking, slapstick, observation and any combination of the above.